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Sultanate of Oman Celebrates World Telecommunication & Information Society Day

May 19, 2020

The Sultanate celebrated World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on Monday 18 May 2020 through a virtual event organized by the Ministry of Technology and Communications. HE Eng. Azza bint Sulaiman Al-Ismaili, Minister of Technology and Communications, spoke during the event and she touched on the importance of this day, which focuses on the "Connectivity 2030" program of the International Telecommunication Union, which is a shared international vision to bridge the digital divide and harness information and communications technology in support of sustainable development plans in member countries.

In her speech, Al Ismaili reviewed a number of important national initiatives, saying: “We are keeping our goals in the Sultanate of Oman with the direction of the International Telecommunication Union through a number of initiatives and projects that we mention, for example: providing more than 600 villages in the Sultanate with Internet via satellite in 2020, in cooperative work between Ministry of Technology and Communications, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, and telecommunications companies operating in the Sultanate. We also recently celebrated the application of smart city technologies in some locations as well as the introduction of artificial intelligence in a number of hospitals for breast cancer diagnosis in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.”

Al Ismaili added, “In line with the countries efforts in dealing with COVID-19, the Ministry of Technology and Communications announced the formation of Technical Innovation Committee in coordination with the Supreme Committee in charge of dealing with the developments resulting from the spread of Corona virus. This committee is concerned with overseeing national initiatives and directing specialized talents to provide innovative technical solutions to address this global pandemic, especially those concerned with accelerating the diagnosis and epidemiological investigation, and providing medical and healthcare remotely.”

The celebration included a presentation highlighted the initiative to provide satellite Internet for more than 600 villages in the Sultanate presented by Eng. Yousef bin Abdullah Al Balushi, Deputy CEO of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA. Artificial Intelligence in breast cancer diagnosis implementation project was also showcased by Abdullah bin Hamoud Al-Raqadi, Director General of Information Technology in the Ministry of Health, in which he addressed the positive and accurate results of the diagnosis using this technique. The project is now implemented in 3 hospitals including the Royal Hospital and it will also be in another 2 hospitals in the coming days. The ceremony also included a visual presentation about “Innotech Initiatives” in the use of the 3D printers in printing health devices to meet the needs of the market and another presentation on sustainable development and its importance.